Doing What He Said He Would: President Trump’s Transparent, Principled and Consistent Process for Choosing a Supreme Court Nominee

TRANSPARENT: President Trump provided an initial list of eleven possible candidates to the American people to replace Justice Antonin Scalia as far back as May, 2016. In September, the President added ten more names, providing a final list of twenty-one candidates. President Trump promised “this list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court.” The list:

Justice Keith Blackwell

Justice Charles Canady

Judge Steven Colloton

Associate Justice Allison Eid

Judge Neil Gorsuch

Judge Raymond Gruender

Judge Thomas Hardiman

Judge Raymond Kethledge

Associate Justice Joan Larsen

Senator Mike Lee

Associate Justice Thomas Lee

Justice Edward Mansfield

Judge Federico Moreno

Judge William Pryor

Judge Margaret Ryan

Judge Amul Thapar

Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich

Associate Justice David Stras

Judge Diane Sykes

Justice Don Willett

Chief Justice Robert Young

PRINCIPLED: President Trump told the American people his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would uphold the rule of law.

July 21st, 2016, President Trump: “We are also going to appoint justices to the United States Supreme Court who will uphold our laws and our Constitution.”

CONSISTENT: President Trump has been clear and consistent about the fact that he would nominate a Supreme Court Justice that represents the principles espoused by the late Supreme Court Justice.

October 10th, 2016, President Trump: “I am looking to appoint judges very much in the mold of Justice Scalia.”

September 23rd, 2016, President Trump: “I will appoint justices, who like Justice Scalia, will protect our liberty with the highest regard for the Constitution.”

May 18th, 2016, President Trump: “Justice Scalia was a remarkable person and a brilliant Supreme Court Justice. His career was defined by his reverence for the Constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans’ most cherished freedoms.”

February 13th, 2016, President Trump: “Justice Scalia was a fantastic man. You really want that person to be as close to him as possible.”